News Roundup 19 September 2022
Sep 19, 2022 • 5 min Read
Fishers urge Marcos to assert sea claim vs China in UN assembly | PHILSTAR.COM – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should assert the Philippines’ sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea when he speaks at the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, a group of fisherfolk said Monday. In a statement, Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) urged Marcos to remind China’s State Council and Foreign Minister Wang Yi to obey the landmark arbitration ruling that invalidated Beijing’s expansive claims over a large part of the South China Sea. Marcos should also urge China to cease its military buildup and reclamation activities in the Philippine waters, the group added. China does not recognize the landmark 2016 decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. “By highlighting his administration’s thrust for food security and agricultural productivity, Marcos should likewise raise the troubles we are facing in utilizing our marine and fishery resources in the Chinese-occupied West Philippine Sea,” said Fernando Hicap, national chairperson of PAMALAKAYA. “Marcos should not miss this very opportunity to seek international support in recovering our territorial waters and as part of his commitment to boost agricultural productivity and achieve local food security,” he added. PAMALAKAYA said that China’s aggressive acts in the West Philippine Sea along with large-scale poaching activities result in marine degradation and fish stocks exhaustion. According to its study, fisherfolk in Zambales province have been losing 70% of their daily incomes since Beijing established a presence in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal in 2012. In his first State of the Nation Address, Marcos said he “will not preside over any process that will abandon even a square inch of territory of the Philippines to any foreign power.” Marcos’ predecessor, former President Rodrigo Duterte, led a foreign policy pivot to China in exchange for investment pledges. Malacañang earlier said the president will discuss rule of law, climate change, and food security at the High-Level General Debate on September 20.
Pimentel cautions Padilla: I am the PDP-Laban chairman | INQUIRER.NET – Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III on Monday cautions Senator Robin Padilla for mentioning former President Rodrigo Duterte as chair of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban). During the Senate committee on finance hearing, Padilla said that former President Rodrigo Duterte is PDP-Laban’s chairperson. Pimentel interrupted Padilla’s inquiry on the judiciary officials as he stood firm on his party leadership. “Sorry to be raising this, pero baka ma-rules of court kami sa (we may encounter rules of court in the) future. Senator Padilla mentioned a name as chairman of the PDP-Laban. That is not correct as far as this representation is concerned because I am the chairman of the PDP-Laban, the original PDP-Laban party,” he said. “Just for the information, kasi meron yatang — ‘di ba merong (because there is a) provision sa (on the) rules of court that if something is stated in your [Supreme Court justices] presence and you do not react to it, might be, it can be, or might be taken against you,” he added. Padilla immediately apologized to Pimentel.
Unprecedented P2.3B for VP Sara draws backlash, clamor for scrutiny | INQUIRER.NET – This week, the proposed P2.3 billion Office of the Vice President (OVP) budget for 2023 breezed through the House of Representatives, leaving several questions hanging in the air until the plenary debates. On Wednesday (September 14), the deliberation of the proposed 2023 budget of the OVP was terminated in less than seven minutes by the House committee on appropriations. Minority Floor Leader and 4Ps party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan moved to terminate the budget briefing as a sign of respect for Duterte, who was personally present during the panel’s hearing. There were members from the minority who wanted to ask questions about the OVP budget—particularly those from the Makabayan bloc —but Libanan said the questions would be entertained in plenary as a courtesy to Duterte. Last week, lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc questioned the proposed P2.3 billion budget for Vice President Sara Duterte’s office next year. They pointed out the huge budget increase compared to this year’s approved budget for the OVP, as well as the huge P500 million “confidential funds” included in the proposed budget. In this article, INQUIRER.net will try to detail the OVP’s proposed budget and explain the confidential expenses included in the 2023 budget—what it is, when they can be used, and why it is being requested by the OVP. The current administration is seeking a P2.3 billion budget for Duterte’s office next year—around three times higher than the P702 million budget given to the same office for 2022 under former Vice President Leni Robredo. The proposed 2023 OVP budget is also higher compared to the highest budget received by her predecessors—P900 million in 2021 under Robredo and P500 million in 2016 under former Vice President Jejomar Binay Both Robredo and Binay also requested a lower budget for their first year in office. In 2017, Robredo proposed a lower budget of P428.6 million, which was immediately approved by Congress. Binay in 2011 requested a budget of P177 million. Based on data recorded in the 2023 National Expenditure Program (NEP), a huge chunk of the OVP’s budget for 2023—a total of P2,201,317,000—will be allocated to the “good governance program.” The program, according to OVP spokesperson Reynold Munsayac, will need P2.2 billion and utilized primarily for the OVP’s public assistance plans.
